Emergency Response

January 1998

Fire Protection Agreements

A fire protection agreement is a contract between the participating municipalities involved, clearly defining the responsibilities, terms, conditions, and all other aspects of the fire services purchased, provided and/or required.

Why:

Municipalities may wish to enter into a fire protection agreement for one or more of the following reasons:

a municipality has no fire department

a municipality has a fire department, but the area requiring protection is too far removed from its fire station(s) to provide effective protection

a fire department may require assistance in the event of a major emergency

specialized equipment may not be available through the Mutual Aid Plan

two or more municipalities may wish to jointly operate and manage a fire department

natural or man made barriers, either permanent or temporary, may block or impede the movement of apparatus from the home fire department

the provision of communications/dispatch services

the provision of automatic aid

the provision of mutual aid

the provision of services for hazardous material incidents

the provision of water/ice rescue services

the provision of medical assistance services

the provision of fire prevention and public education

Authority:

Municipal Act

Fire Protection and Prevention Act

Type of Agreement:

In order to determine the type of agreement necessary, it is essential that the specific needs of the municipality be identified and established.

The municipality purchasing fire protection must determine precisely what type and to what extent protection is required.

The municipality providing such services must carefully assess these needs to see whether or not it is in a position to provide them, while not jeopardizing the provision of fire protection services to its own municipality.

It is the sole responsibility of council to decide the type and extent of fire protection services that can be provided, e.g.

complete fire protection services

fire suppression services only

first call only

back-up fire suppression services

Complete Fire Protection Services:

Examples of available services include:

fire suppression

fire prevention and public education services

fire cause determination and investigations

enforcement of regulations such as the Ontario Fire Code

assisting the chief building official reviewing building plans

hazardous material incidents

search and rescue

water/ice rescue

extrication

medical assistance responses

administrative functions and services

communications and dispatch services

training and education services

apparatus and equipment maintenance and repair services

Areas of Consideration:

The following are areas of consideration for inclusion in agreements:

parties involved

intent of agreement

services to be purchased/provided

define area(s) to be protected including map of the area(s) served, (if streets or roads are used as boundaries, are properties on and accessible from both sides of the street or road included?)

apparatus and equipment to respond, personnel to respond - minimum and/or maximum number including any variations for different occurrences (is an officer(s) to be included?)

arrangement for extra assistance if needed including appropriate agreements for such assistance

when more than one fire department is involved, which fire chief has jurisdiction and is in command

the maximum response distance for the fire department

costing arrangements, including;

annual cost only

stand-by fee

charge for each apparatus

charge for personnel

cost based on equalized assessment

administrative fees

fee for fire prevention inspections and the time and work involved subsequent to the actual physical inspections

payment schedule including special arrangements relative to responses on provincial highways, environmental legislation, and Ministry of Natural Resources agreements

provisions for failing to supply the services, or any part thereof

a map of all readily useable static water sources available

are all roads and bridges safely passable for fire apparatus

the marking of streets and roads at all intersections

the numbering of properties by an acceptable clear and readily identifiable system

residents in the contracted area officially notified of procedures for reporting an emergency, and what services are available

municipal emergency plan

fire department referenced (which municipality?)

fire chief referenced (which municipality?)

appropriate by-laws in place

fire prevention and public education activities

fire chief appointed as an inspector under the Building Code Act (which municipality(ies)?)

appointments and authority have been made respecting other fire prevention personnel

cost of providing outside fire protection relative to cost of providing fire protection to own ratepayers

Codes, Standards and Best Practices:

Codes, Standards and Best Practices resources available to assist in establishing local policy on this assessment are listed below. All are available at http://www.mcscs.jus.gov.on.ca . Please feel free to copy and distribute this document. We ask that the document not be altered in any way, that the Office of the Fire Marshal be credited and that the documents be used for non-commercial purposes only.
See also PFSG02-04-01 &02-04-23 Capabilities of Existing Fire Protection Services04-04-12 Automatic Aid04-33-13 Community Emergency Plan Participation04-01-12 Selecting Fire Suppression Capability04-02-01 Service Delivery Considerations04-05-12 Mutual Aid04-12-13 Core Services04-64-12 Communications Centre/Resource Centre